Acrocanthosaurus
Acrocanthosaurus is a genus of carcharodontosaurid dinosaur that originated from Early Cretaceous North America. Hence the name, this predatory dinosaur, one of the largest ever discovered, is best known for the high neural spines on many of its vertebrae, which supported a ridge of muscle over the animal's neck, back, and hips. Description One of the apex predators of the Early Cretaceous period, Acrocanthosaurus is a large carnivorous dinosaur that slumps its head in the downward position in order to maintain balance because of the shape of its inner ear. Paleontology One of the largest known carnivorous dinosaurs ever discovered, Acrocanthosaurus was first uncovered in Oklahoma by American paleontologists J. Willis Stovall and Wann Langston Jr. in the year 1950. When it was first discovered, Acrocanthosaurus was originally thought to be closely related to the Jurassic predator Allosaurus. However, in the 1980s, given the spine on its back, it was then thought to be a species of spinosaurid. However, in the year 2013, cladistic analyses have found it to be a carcharodontosaurid, therefore, related to the dinosaurs Carcharodontosaurus of Africa and Giganotosaurus of South America. The name Acrocanthosaurus means "high-spined lizard". Like some carnivores, such as Allosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus, the skull of Acrocanthosaurus ''was long, low and narrow. Its skull alone was nearly 1.3 m (4.3 ft) in length. The dinosaur itself measured 11.5 m (38 ft) in length from snout to tail tip and weighed an estimated 7.25 metric tons (7.99 short tons). This makes ''Acrocanthosaurus one of the largest predatory dinosaurs ever discovered. Armed with curved, serrated teeth, Acrocanthosaurus teeth were wider than those of Carcharodontosaurus and did not have the wrinkled texture that characterized the carcharodontosaurids. Perhaps the most notable feature of Acrocanthosaurus, hence its name, was its row of tall neural spines, located on the vertebrae of the neck, back, hips and upper tail, which could be more than 2.5 times the height of the vertebrae from which they extended. Most other dinosaurs also had high spines on the back, sometimes much higher than those of Acrocanthosaurus. For instance, the unrelated Spinosaurus had spines nearly 2 m (6.6 ft) tall, about 11 times taller than the bodies of its vertebrae. The lower spines of Acrocanthosaurus had attachments for powerful muscles like those of modern bison, probably forming a tall, thick ridge down its back. While the exact function of the spines remains unknown, they may have been involved in communication, fat storage, muscle or temperature control as well as potentially to attract mates. All of its cervical (neck) and dorsal (back) vertebrae had prominent depressions (pleurocoels) on the sides, while the caudal (tail) vertebrae bore smaller ones. This is more similar to carcharodontosaurids than to Allosaurus. Trivia *The base color for Acrocanthosaurus is similar, if not, bears resemblance to the color pattern of the T. rex known as "Mama Scarface" featured in the 2008 PS3 game Turok. *''Acrocanthosaurus'' previously appeared in Jurassic Park: Operation Genesis, considered by many to be Jurassic World Evolution's spiritual predecessor. Gallery UmUuWASV_PREVIEW_SCREENSHOT2_542226.jpg JWEAcrocanthosaurus.jpg References Further reading External links Category:Dinosaurs Category:Theropods Category:Carcharodontosaurids Category:Carnivores Category:Isla Pena Unlock Category:Carnivore Pack